


Every Tatter in Its Mortal Dress

by orphened



Category: His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman, Tales of Xillia
Genre: Additional Tags/Warnings to be added, Alternate Universe - Daemons, Gen, M/M, Retelling of Xillia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-12
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-08-14 16:58:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8021833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphened/pseuds/orphened
Summary: "The Lance of Kresnik? Like the hero? What does it do?""It's a weapon." Milla grimaced, and Casimir curled tighter around her throat. "And it's killing people's dæmons."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Edit:** Made some changes to fill it out a bit more.
> 
> LISTEN GUYS the dæmon AU practically writes itself, okay. Made some changes to the timeline/plot of the original game, but a lot of it follows the first game's story compliant with the dæmon AU. 
> 
> Title taken from Yeats' "Sailing to Byzantium."

"Casimir, you're too tight." It was an effort to keep her voice steady, and Milla couldn't really blame him. Every bit of her felt coiled and on-edge, and she turned away before vomit could rise in her throat. Reaching up, she stroked Casimir's scales, reassuring. Soothing. 

The boa dæmon loosened his grip, but was trembling. His slender tail wrapped around her bicep, a compromise."Sssorry."  

Milla snuck a glance toward her companion. Alvin—if that was really his name—looked as inscrutable as ever, but his odd-looking dæmon was pacing in closer and closer circles to him, panting. So. He _was_ affected by this, in some way. 

She turned and forced herself to look again. This wasn't the Lance, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it was somehow related. The cages lining the wall were filled with people, and as if that wasn't bad enough, there was something  _wrong_ about them. Most of them were slumped together, eyes staring sightlessly through the bars of their cages. A few of the more lucid ones watched her and Alvin with suspicion. They looked more than sick, like something in them had died and left only a shell behind.  

Human experiments in the same lab where the Lance was rumored to be kept? 

_It's no coincidence_ , Undine whispered in her head. 

It struck her, and she couldn't quite keep the horror from her voice when she spoke again. "Alvin. Where are their dæmons?"  

Before he could answer, there was a weak moan from one of the cages. Hushing Casimir's anxious protests, Milla moved closer, kneeling before an elderly man. He was slumped against the back, eyes glazed over and breathing heavily, but when he saw Milla he endeavored to sit up. 

"Please... help us," he pleaded. His voice was pitched at little more than a whisper, but it was hard to tell whether that was due to fear or fatigue. Milla shifted closer, and Casimir seized around her neck. 

"Milla," he hissed, quiet enough that only she could hear. "He's... _watching_ me." 

"What happened?" Alvin had moved closer as well, face pale but otherwise betraying nothing of what he was thinking. Hard to read, that one. Milla scowled, but turned back to the elderly man as he succumbed to a coughing fit. 

"They split us. "It came out like a croak. "Our dæmons. They're gone," he sighed. 

_What?_ Efreet rumbled in her head. Milla was glad for his warm presence; it felt like her spine had turned to ice. Casimir hissed and buried his face into her hair. 

She clenched her quivering hands. "What do you mean, split? Are they being kept somewhere?" 

The man shook his head, and he looked so fragile that Milla was—irrationally—worried he would break apart from the motion. "A permanent break of the bond... Intercision, it's called." 

"Intercision?" Milla swallowed as her throat lurched, made more difficult as Casimir was coiled tightly around her throat again. She watched Alvin's dæmon bark, once, and brush up against his leg before circling away. The man himself looked like he was on the verge of being sick. 

"They're using the energy, from our dæmons,for the Lance..."He moaned. "My research—I didn't know!"  

Milla pitched forward, pressing her hands to the bars of the cage. "What do you know about the Lance? Where is it?" 

"My student, Jude... Find Jude Mathis. My research..." Suddenly he sat up, frenzied, and seemed to reach for Casimir. Milla recoiled, horrified, and the man cried out, eyes rolling back. "My Anna! She's gone! Gone!" He rattled the bars of the cage, spittle flying from his mouth. "Kill me, please!  _Kill me_!" 

Milla scrambled back, trying to stand, but Alvin was already moving forward with his pistol in hand. "Get back." 

The Lord of Spirits made herself watch. 

* * *

“It's terrible that you always get stuck with the night shift.” 

Jude laughed. “Tazi, it's Fennmont. Every shift is the night shift.”  

The sleek canine beside him shook out her coat irritably. “I know. Terrible.” Rising, she followed Jude into the next room where a patient was sleeping soundly. The woman's dæmon, a snowy white fox, looked like a cloud that was curled up on the pillow next to her. Jude felt for the woman's temperature, marked it on her chart, then padded back out of the room, his own dæmon close on his heels.  

“I want to go running.” Peevish. But he could feel her jitters in his own legs, pushing him to move. 

"Soon, I promise." He smiled obligingly. "My rotations are almost over for the week.”  

Tazi pranced a bit, ignoring Jude's laugh. “Can we go back to Leronde? Visit Leia and Maki?”  

“I don't see why not.” Some sunshine and time to catch up with his best friend would be good for them, even if it did mean having to see his father. He and Leia wrote back and forth to each other, but it wasn't the same as seeing each other in person. Jude suspected it had something to do with the fact that he didn't have to worry about the surprise sparring matches his friend liked to spring on him.  

“Jude-” A voice broke into his thoughts. He turned to see a classmate waving him toward the offices. “Professor Haus was supposed to be back by now. Do you know where he went?” 

Jude frowned. “He was at the research lab, but he said he'd be done by five.” A glance at his watch revealed that it was already close to eight. He began shrugging out of his lab coat. “Should I go look for him? I just finished checking on his last patient, so I was leaving anyway.” 

The girl let out a sigh of relief. “You're a lifesaver, Jude. Thank you.” She offered a shy smile before ducking back into the office.  

“You don't think something bad's happened?” Tazi remarked as they made their way to the dormitory. She kept close to his heels again, anxious now instead of annoyed.  

Jude's stomach clenched. "I don't know, Taz." It seemed unlikely, but Haus had been tight-lipped about the research he was assisting with. Jude knew it had something to do with the King's Research Division, and Haus' own research regarding dæmon and human interactions, but the specifics were never mentioned. Surely, if it was being run by the state, nothing bad would happen to the Professor... 

But he couldn't shake the sense of dread that was starting to creep up. He got back to his room and changed quickly, pausing over the bracers he'd brought with him from home.  

Tazi watched him, wary. "You don't think—" 

A sudden explosion rocked the building, and Jude stumbled over Tazi as she crowded up against his legs and yelped in surprise. “What—“ A second explosion knocked him flat, head smacking into the wooden floorboards hard. He gasped and blinked away stars as pain flared in his skull. Next to him, Tazi whined. 

“Jude!” Prinn had thrown open his door, expression horrified. Tangled up in her feet, her cat dæmon was yowling with fear. “It was the Research Lab! There's a fire—“ 

Jude shook his head to clear the ringing in his ears, brain sputtering to catch up. Already his classmates were surging out of their rooms, and the hall was filled with the wild calls of their dæmons. No doubt people were hurt in whatever had been set off, and the hospital would need everyone on staff. But an explosion in the Research Lab... 

“Prinn, Professor Haus, he was there—“  

His classmate frowned, then pressed her lips together in a determined line. “Go. They won't miss one student here.”  

Jude nodded his thanks, scrambling to stand while Tazi shuffled anxiously. He paused when he saw Prinn lingering by the door. “What is it?” 

“Jude, just.” She took a deep breath. “Be careful.” 

He grabbed the bracers.

* * *

 Tazi got her run sooner than she'd expected. It was hard keeping up with her gallop, especially with the surge of people wanting to get as far away from the fires as possible. Jude dodged around a merchant, breathing hard and trying not to think about how much smoke he could see billowing out of the Research Building. It was possible Professor Haus hadn't even been in there; he could have gone home, or— 

Something grabbed him, jerking him out of his run and making Tazi yelp in surprise ahead of him. Jude silently thanked Leia for years of Surprise Sparring matches, braced himself, and twisted out of the hold with his arms raised in the guard position. 

In a small alley, a man held his hands up, placating. He seemed surprised, which was rich, all things considered. “Easy, kid. Just got a question for 'ya.” 

"What?" If his voice was a bit clipped, Jude felt he had a valid excuse. He was still coiled tight, skeptical. 

The man smiled, reassuring, and gestured back toward the hospital. "You a doctor?" 

Jude relaxed a bit. "Uh, well, still a student, really." His mouth turned down as he took in the man's appearance. The man's jacket was torn in some places, but he otherwise appeared fine. "Why?"  

"Great, yeah." The man ran a hand through his hair, brows pulled together in frustration. "You know where I can find a 'Jude Mathis'?" 

Jude paused, carefully."Who's asking?" 

Not carefully enough, as the man stopped as well, quiet. They both seemed to consider each other more closely now. The man appeared to be in his twenties, and Jude saw a gun strapped to one hip and a sword on the other. A mercenary perhaps? He also noticed charring on the man's jacket, and curiosity almost won out over his wariness. But, most pressing was the fact that he didn't see the man's dæmon, and there was something about that detail that felt important. 

The man's gaze raked up and down in turn, and against all reason, Jude felt his face heat. "A student, huh," the man murmured.  

"Let's go," Tazi muttered to Jude, nudging at his leg. "I don't like this." 

Naturally, he agreed. He took a step back and gestured in the direction of the smoking Research Building. “Listen,I've got to—someone important to me is in there, and I need to see...” But something was wrong. The man was watching him too closely, and there was this odd smell... 

Tazi's rumbling growl from behind him made him stop and turn. 

At first, his brain didn't connect the feral-looking creature with a dæmon. It looked like a wolf, but its ears were rounder, and it had longer legs. A distinctive mane flared along its back. Between it and Jude, Tazi stood with teeth bared in a wicked snarl, but her legs quivered. 

“I'm real sorry about this, kid.”  

Jude had just enough time to note the man's tone, how he didn't really sound sorry at all, before something hit him hard in the back of the head.  

* * *

When he woke up, it was with a spike in his skull and a mouthful of cotton. The back of his head pounded like a drum, and Jude resolved that two head injuries in one day was more than enough. He lay still,watering eyes squeezed shut to keep out the light, and tried to identify what else had woken him up. It took him some time to recognize it was that same smell from the alley—sharp, earthy, and oddly sweet. Like rot. 

“Taz,” he tried, but it came out more as a breathy croak.  

“Jude. I'm here.” But she sounded anxious, and that scared him more than the throbbing pain in his head.  

He opened his eyes and froze. Standing over him was the man's dæmon, for it had to belong to him, and he realized it must be the source of the weird smell. He hadn't noticed it before, in the alley, but now the beast was closer—close enough to  _touch_. Jude's stomach rolled at the thought and he swallowed, breathing shallow and panicky. He could feel Tazi close by, but was too afraid to look away from the dæmon in front of him to see where she was.  

“Back away from him,  _mongrel_ , or I'll rip your throat out,” Tazi snarled. Jude finally glanced toward her, and had never seen her so scared in his life, hackles raised, but legs braced like she'd have loved nothing more than to leap and sink her teeth into it like she'd threatened to. 

The creature bared its teeth, but darted away on its long legs, skittish. Jude let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding, feeling dizzy. Tazi dashed over and curled into his side, her lean body shaking; he twisted his fingers in her coat and breathed in the clean scent of her fur. 

"He didn't touch you, did he?" Tazi was still trembling as she squirmed in his grip to lick at his face, worried. Jude shook his head and pressed his cheek to her shoulder. 

"So, you're awake." 

Jude jerked his head up and saw the man from the alley standing in the doorway of the little room. The wolf-like dæmon watched them a little ways behind him, eyes glittering. Pushing down the wave of nausea, Jude stood, Tazi still leaning against him. "Where am I? And who are you?" He struggled to keep his voice firm, feigning confidence. 

The man crossed his arms, foot tapping impatiently. "That's not important. I need your help."  

Tazi growled, and Jude's jaw dropped. "You're not serious. You knocked me out, kidnapped me, and your—your _dæmon_ ," he waved a hand at the creature, which seemed to be grinning at him. The man just raised an eyebrow, which was infuriating. Jude clenched his teeth. "And you want my  _help_?" 

"It's not for me." The man's grin was sly. "It's for the Lord of Spirits."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kidnapping was never so casual.

The Lord of Spirits, Jude soon found out, was not actually a wizened old man like he had always pictured. In fact, she appeared to be a young, beautiful woman accompanied by a stunningly gorgeous boa dæmon with scales like sparkling glass. Jude had never felt more of an urge to touch another person's dæmon, though the creeping sensation of horror accompanied by that thought cut off the desire entirely.

"It's not that pretty," Tazi snorted, peevish again. Jude smiled and ruffled her ears.

"Not as pretty as you, no," he murmured, then turned his attention back to the pair before him. It had never occurred to him that the Lord of Spirits herself would have a dæmon. Emerging research suggested that dæmons were simply an external manifestation of one's own soul, and he would have assumed that beings like Maxwell had no need for it. But looking at the rainbow boa, curled up and glittering like a jewel...

Well, if the Lord of Spirits _were_ to have a dæmon, he supposed it was appropriate that it should be so beautiful.

He was concerned about the injuries she'd sustained, however. Both she and her dæmon were still out cold, and her legs had nearly been crushed. Jude had already wrapped them and dumped several healing artes into them, but even as he felt the bones start to knit themselves back together, the nerve damage seemed irreparable. It would take more than an inexperienced medical student to heal them to the point where she'd be able to walk again.

His kidnapper had refused to talk about what exactly had happened, much to Jude's frustration. In fact, he'd refused to talk about anything at all. As if the situation weren't tenuous enough, he'd dumped Jude in the room with his patient and the instructions "don't leave, I'll be back soon," and just _left_ , locking the door behind him. Jude had debated for a moment just walking out after he had gone, but he'd seen the prone woman and couldn't just leave her there.

He sat back in his chair, breathing heavily. His head was still pounding, and a thin sheen of sweat had broken out from the concentration the artes had taken. Whatever happened next, he couldn't do it like this, half exhausted and possibly concussed.

The room, much like the others that Jude had caught a glimpse of, was sparsely decorated, if that was even the right word. There were two beds, a cabinet that was filled with the most basic healing supplies: a few gels, bandages, but little else of use. No window, which made something under his skin itch. One doorway led off to a small, but tidy bathroom. The other was locked, and while Jude was sure he could break it with a well-aimed kick, he was in no condition to do it now.

Even with his nerves buzzing beneath his skin, insisting this was all wrong, wrong, wrong, he resigned himself to rest. Once he was feeling better, he'd explore enough to figure out where they were, and find a way out. Hopefully, he thought, glancing at the woman resting in the bed, with her, as well. His kidnapper's desire to have her healed seemed to stem less from kindness and more from necessity, something that rankled with Jude.

With a sigh, he dragged himself out of the chair and curled up on top of the sheets on the other bed. Tazi jumped up next to him and lay down against the curve of his back, murmuring that she'd do her best to stay awake and keep watch. Jude nodded his thanks, and with the last of his energy, he drew down the swelling at the base of his skull before slipping off into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Alvin."

The man grunted and took a long drag off his cigarette. He refused to look over to where his dæmon was pacing. It was making him too damn nervous.

"I said, what're we gonna do now?" Abel circled around closer, but still out of arm's reach. "You lost the core, and now we have this kid to take care of."

Alvin's teeth ground down around the end of the cigarette. "I'm working on it, okay?"

'That kid' was the reason Alvin was lurking outside of his own flophouse, tucked away under the shade of a tree like a thief. (Which, he supposed he was, in more ways than one.) Jude Mathis. He'd known the name was familiar, saw it now in the shape of his jaw and the color of his eyes. It was no wonder he was in med school, and an honors student, at that.

Somehow, he suspected his uncle was responsible even for this.

He tossed the cigarette away and closed his eyes, trying to block out the memory of the boy's lean body, twisting away from him with surprising strength. Trying to ignore the fact that he wanted to run his hands over it to see how pliant Alvin could make him.

In the grass, he heard Abel's teeth crunch down on something small.

Alvin stood up and grabbed his satchel. He could only put off his return for so long, and frankly, he didn't trust the kid to not do something stupid. "C'mon, we're going."

Mouth full of something Alvin didn't want to consider, his dæmon hummed assent and loped over.

"And Abel," he growled. "Stop being so fucking weird."

The maned wolf snickered, then pounced on a field mouse and swallowed it down whole. "What do you mean?"

Alvin grimaced. "Getting so close to the kid. It's weird." Then he sighed, pulling out another cigarette. "Just—leave it, okay?"

His dæmon gave him a wolfish shrug, tongue lolling out in a grin. "But he's cute, right?" He cackled and dodged the expected kick, bounding away again.

Running a hand over his eyes, Alvin took another long drag. This was gonna be a fucking nightmare.

* * *

"Hey, kid." Something nudged his shoulder, and Jude cracked an eye open to see the man standing over him. Exhaustion, coupled with frustration—he'd hoped to have at least a couple more hours before the man returned—prompted Jude to scowl and roll back over with a muttered curse.

There was a sigh behind him. "Whatever. I brought food, if you're hungry." And then he was gone.

The stubborn part of Jude was determined to lay in bed and starve to death before eating anything here. The rational, medical student part, however, reminded him that his mana had practically run dry, and that wouldn't help in the event of an escape. He needed mana, which meant he needed energy.

Which meant he needed food.

He lay in bed for another fifteen minutes anyway, just to spite him.

"Jude," Tazi called. He rolled over, and saw her standing in the open doorway to the room. That made him sit up, and he was relieved to find that only a dull ache and a small lump remained from his head injury.

Out in the hall, he saw... a house. Or, a cabin, maybe. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting—a dungeon?—but it seemed so _normal_. The hall extended down left and right, and Tazi bared her teeth at the wolf dæmon lounging by what was probably the front door. Jude saw late afternoon sunlight slanting through a window in the door, but was too wary of getting closer to look out it. He turned right, instead, and found two other doors—both locked—before the hall opened up to the kitchen.

His kidnapper was sitting at the table and eating a sandwich. Jude felt his world tip sideways for a moment.

The man glanced up, then gestured across the table, where another plate lay. Jude ignored it, crossing the room to peer out another window. Maddeningly, all he could see was a field and some trees, and the vague shape of mountains far away on the horizon. They could be anywhere on the southern end of Rashugal, for all he knew.

"Not gonna find anything of use there, kid." The man murmured. Jude turned to find the man watching him, and something crept down his spine, making him shiver.

He crossed his arms and gave him a withering look. "I'm not a kid, so quit calling me that." He was rewarded by a raised eyebrow, and rolled his eyes. "Clearly you think I'm competent enough, or is that not why you kidnapped me?"

Curiously, the man's face flushed, and he looked back down at his plate without comment. Jude thought he heard wheezing at the other end of the hallway. Whatever.

Eyeing the sandwich with some suspicion, he sat down across from the man and picked at the bread. A few painfully awkward minutes passed before Jude glanced up. "So.. What's your name, anyway?"

The man grinned around a mouthful of food and gave him a playful salute. Charming. "Alvin."

"Just 'Alvin'?" Jude raised a brow.

"Just Alvin." He brushed his hands together then stood and grabbed their plates to put in the sink. Jude scowled. Cleanliness next to... kidnappiness. Or something.

"Wanna tell me what happened in Fennmont, 'Just Alvin'?"

"Nope." There was the sound of the faucet turning, and then Alvin was. Doing dishes.

This was too weird.

Tazi's tail made soft sounds as it swished back and forth in irritation. She met Jude's gaze and shook her head. He sighed, drumming his fingers on the table and looking around. The kitchen was plain, but efficient. Another small room lay off of the kitchen, like a storeroom, but it appeared empty. Alvin's jacket was slung over one of the chairs, reeking of smoke, but he didn't see the sword or the gun. Jude wrinkled his nose, then started as something pieced together.

"You were at the lab!"

He saw Alvin tense up at the sink. Jude stood up, moving around to see the man's face, which was pinched. Caught in a lie. He put his hands on his hips, bracing for an argument. "I knew it. You know something about the explosion, don't you?" He thought of the Lord of Spirits, how her legs had appeared to be crushed. "That's how she got hurt, isn't it?" Alvin seemed to wince, and Jude pushed, like probing a wound. "Did you have something to do with it?"

"Easy, kid." Something seemed to break, and Alvin slumped, defeated. "Alright. Fine. Gimme a second here, and I'll tell you."

Jude waited impatiently, foot tapping, as Alvin seemed to take a thousand years to finish cleaning two plates. Finally, he sat back down at the other end of the table and lit a cigarette, ignoring Jude's glowering.

"We were at the lab. Milla and I," he muttered. Jude's eyebrows rose, and he moved to sit across from the other man.

"Milla?"

"S'what she goes by. 'Milla Maxwell, Lord of Spirits.'" He rolled his eyes, taking a drag. "Anyway, we're there to dismantle some machine. Milla says it's a danger to the spirits, or something."

Now Jude rolled his eyes. So much for specifics. "And you were just, what. Tagging along for fun?"

Alvin grinned, cigarette clenched between his teeth. "Hired muscle."

"And kidnapper, apparently," Jude reminded, deadpan. Tazi snorted.

Shrugging, Alvin blew out a ring of smoke. "I do what I'm paid to do. We find the machine, Milla steals the core out of it." He shrugged again, nonchalant. "Shouldn't work now, right? Except then, something goes wrong, and the whole thing blows up in our faces." He grinned sharply. "Literally. Pinned Milla under a ton of scrap metal, shredded her legs."

Jude shivered at the man's casual tone. "Why not just take her to a hospital?"

"She's the Lord of Spirits, honors student. How well do you think that would go over?"

Glaring, Jude picked at a spot on the table. Something—aside from the vagueness of the whole thing—seemed off about the man's story. The gaps seemed calculated, purposeful. But some information was better than nothing.

He sighed, then took a gamble. "You didn't... while you were looking for it, you didn't happen to find a group of researchers, did you?"

He watched Alvin's mouth pull back in a grimace. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

Jude's gut seized. "You mean, Professor Haus... something happened to him?" His voice dropped to a whisper. "Is he dead?"

Alvin paused, and his eyes slid to the left. "Yeah. Human experiments. They did something to his dæmon. Pulled them apart, or something. Shock of it killed him."

Something rose up in Jude's throat, but he swallowed it down. He wasn't sure what was worse: hearing that his advisor was dead, or knowing about the horrible experiment behind it. Tazi pressed against his leg, lean body trembling as she licked at his hand.

Alvin watched the exchange carefully, then stubbed out his cigarette in an ashtray. "Look, I told you you're better off not knowing." He looked up, businesslike. "What can you tell me about Milla?"

Jude shook his head, trying to clear it of the nightmarish image of his professor, and struggled to remember what he could about Milla's injuries. "She, uh." He swallowed, wiped at his watering eyes, and sat up straighter. "The bone and tissue damage is healing, but the nerve damage is extensive." He bit his lip. "I don't know if she'll be able to walk again."

Alvin swore something quietly, then met Jude's gaze. "Look, honors student, I need you to fix her. I don't care how you do it, but you gotta get her healed up."

Frustrated, Jude tried to explain, "It's not that easy. She'd need something to reconnect the nerves in her legs, and I can't do that. Not by myself, anyway."

Alvin ran a hand through his hair, exasperated. "Well you better figure out how, then." He ignored Tazi's bristling snarl. "Because you're not leaving here until she can walk."

Gaping, Jude knocked his chair back and stood in a rush. "You can't just keep me here indefinitely!" Tazi growled lowly in agreement.

The look Alvin gave him was dark, and spoke volumes of what he could do, if he wanted. Jude pushed down at the panic that rose in response, clenching his fists. Alvin may have taken his bracers, but Jude could still do enough with his bare knuckles.

Eyeing his fists, Alvin sighed. "Relax, honors student. It's not like I wanna hurt you or anything."

That hardly served to make him feel better, and Jude glared. "You're asking me to do something impossible."

The man pulled out another cigarette and lit it without looking at him. "You're a smart kid. I'm sure you'll figure something out." He took a drag and blew back out. "In the meantime, why don't you get some sleep?"

The mutinous part of him wanted to knock Alvin's teeth in. But something else urged caution, just for now, and Jude slowly lowered his fists. There was something else, something big going on, and he wanted to figure out more of it. "Fine." He turned and began to follow Tazi back towards Milla's room. If he was going to stay here, he certainly wasn't going to stay alone.

Something else made him jerk around and stomp back over, yanking the cigarette from Alvin's surprised mouth. "And stop smoking," he snapped. "It's disgusting." With that, he stalked back to the other room and slammed the door.

* * *

When Jude woke up, he found the Lord of Spirits sitting up in bed and watching him. Her dæmon was still curled up next to her, beady eyes open and tongue flicking out.

He couldn't help the surprised shout, startling Tazi awake. "You're up!" Then he paused, and bit his lip. "Er. Awake, I mean." He cast a glance toward her bandaged legs, but they remained motionless.

She also looked down, assessing. "Yes. They seem to be healing nicely, but I cannot feel them." Turning back, she looked Jude over. "I'm assuming I have you to thank for the medical attention?"

Jude flushed, trying to smooth down his bed head, and sat up fully. "Uh, yeah. Technically, I’m still a student, but..." He extended a hand. "Jude Mathis. Alvin... brought me here to help."

The Lord of Spirits started slightly. "Ah, Mathis. We met your teacher at the laboratory." She shook his hand. "I am Milla Maxwell." Beside her, the boa raised itself up a bit. "This is Casimir."

"Tazi," Jude offered. She leapt down from the bed, tail wagging slightly, and politely sniffed at Casimir. His tongue flicked out in return.

"I don't sssee why she needs legs," he confided in the dog, slumping back down. "I do just fine without them."

Tazi snorted. "Speak for yourself."

Jude turned back to Milla. "You said you met Professor Haus?" Alvin had mentioned finding the man, but not speaking with him. Naturally.

Milla nodded, but she was frowning. "Yes. He was... very ill. But he mentioned seeking you out before he died."

Jude's brows pulled together in thought. Aside from medical expertise, he couldn't think of why his professor would say something like that. Not to mention there were plenty of doctors and even other students with more experience than he had. He resolved to ask her about it later, but in the meantime...

"I think I know of a way we can heal your legs." He'd spent the better part of the night, unable to sleep, puzzling over it. Odd noises, coupled with an intense feeling of being watched, had kept on too on-edge to sleep well. "So you can walk again," he clarified.

Milla looked pleased. "Excellent. What does it require?"

Jude grimaced. "That's the hard part. To start, it's an experimental treatment, so I can't guarantee it'll work."

The woman waved him off, expression determined. "We'll try it. It's better than nothing, right?"

"Well, yeah..." Jude bit his lip. "The other part is that it'll be really painful. The device will be reconnecting the nerves in your legs, which is painful enough, but it will draw power off the bond between you and Casimir." He shrugged. "It'll feel like you've case a really powerful arte, and you'll be drained for a while."

Casimir glanced and Milla, tongue flicking in and out. Slowly, he moved to rest his head on her lap. Milla stroked the scales on his eye ridge, quiet. Jude turned away to give them some privacy, and occupied himself with brushing out a mat in Tazi's coat.

"We will do it," Milla murmured. Her voice was quiet, but firm. Jude turned to see her smiling down at her dæmon. "We must, in order to complete our mission."

He itched to ask what exactly that mission was, and how it related to the events at the research lab, but he kept his mouth shut. One step at a time. "Good. I'll tell Alvin, then, and see if maybe he'll actually let me go and get the supplies." He couldn't help the bitter twist of his words, anger spiking fresh and hot as he remembered the conditions of his release. Next to him, Tazi pulled her lip back in a snarl.

Milla looked surprised. "You don't mean he's keeping you here against your will?"

"Well, for starters, he did _kidnap_ me." Bitter again, but it couldn't be helped.

The woman groaned, rubbing a hand over her forehead. "That man..." She turned to Jude. "I'm so sorry for this. I've been... more reliant on Alvin than I expected." Slumping back against the headboards, she closed her eyes and suddenly looked much more worn. "In the explosion, I lost contact with the Four Great Spirits."

Jude's eyes widened, and Milla nodded. "I'm much weaker than I was, and I'll need to return to Nia Khera before I can summon them again."

"I didn't realize," Jude murmured, but Milla waved him off.

"It's no excuse. I'll talk to Alvin about this, and you can go, of course."

As tempting as it sounded—to stroll out the front door, possibly while making several rude hand gestures at his kidnapper—Jude had the nagging sensation that he'd be left out of something important if he chose to leave now. Tazi was watching him warningly, but he sighed and shook his head.

"No, it's alright. I'd like to stay and help, for a little while at least."

Tazi's canines snapped down on his forearm, making him yelp. "Foolish!" She growled. "Don't you know what curiosity does to the cat?"

"Well you're no cat," Jude snapped back, rubbing at his arm. "So we're staying." His dæmon growled again, then lay down at the end of the bed with an ill-tempered curse.

Milla watched them both, one brow cocked curiously, then smiled. "You're a good person, Jude. I'll make sure you get out of this when it's over."

Jude offered her a tired smile in return. "I'm sure I'll figure my way out of it eventually." He stood. "I'm going to go find Alvin to talk to him about supplies. And maybe some food," he added, blushing as his stomach growled loudly.

He didn't feel so bad when Milla's stomach growled as well. She frowned, thoughtful. "Perhaps you could get some for me, as well. It seems I'll be needing that now."

And that was a whole other can of worms that he didn't even want to start considering until after breakfast. Instead, he just nodded and stood up.

Out in the hallway, he could smell food cooking. The wolf dæmon was still laying by the door, and Tazi gave him a cursory growl as they wandered into the kitchen where Alvin was making breakfast.

Without a shirt.

Jude rubbed a hand over his eyes. He was too tired for this. His three hours of sleep were catching up with him, making him drowsy. "I hope you're frying something," he muttered, keeping his eyes averted as he got a glass of water and slumped down at the table.

Alvin just offered him another wide grin. "Sleep well, honors student?"

"Not remotely," Jude grumbled. "Your kidnapping lodge is haunted." Against his better judgment, he looked up, watching as Alvin moved around the kitchen. The man's back was pockmarked with scars, both old and new.

Alvin laughed. "Haunted, right." And Jude was too distracted looking at his broad shoulders to come up with any reply.

"Admiring his _musculature_ , doctor?" Tazi hissed from the floor, still grumpy. Jude flushed, ducking his head.

"Shut up!" He hissed back. "Like you don't like to watch Mira's Great Dane on rotation?" His dæmon sniffed delicately, aloof and refusing to comment. Jude leaned up to find Alvin watching him, two plates in hand. Thankfully, he'd put a shirt on in the interim, and didn't comment as he set one plate down in front of Jude.

"Er. Thanks." Jude wasn't really sure what proper etiquette was for these situations, but the food did smell good. Across from him, Alvin smiled.

"So, is Milla up?"

Jude nodded, eyes fixed on his plate. "Her legs are doing better, and I think I know of a way to fix the nerve damage. I can get you a list of supplies." He finally looked up, challenging. "Unless you wanna let me go get them myself?"

Alvin just returned his stare, calm as ever, and slowly raised one brow. Jude watched the chances of that happening spiral down a drain and scowled. "You know, your employer wasn't exactly please to find out that you'd kidnapped a doctor in her name."

The other man waved his fork at him, grinning again. Always grinning. "Ah, but what a good doctor I found."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," Jude snapped, stabbing unnecessarily hard at a glob of scrambled egg. Under the table, Tazi growled her agreement. Alvin just shrugged, wiping up the last of his egg with a sliver of toast before standing and putting his dishes in the sink. He grabbed a notepad and pen, sliding them over to Jude.

"Write down what you need there, and I'll get it." He ruffled Jude's hair, ignoring the outraged squawk from the boy. "There's another plate on the counter for Milla. Do me a favor and do the dishes when you're done, will 'ya? I need a shower." With that, he ambled out of the kitchen.

Jude gaped after him, then glared. "I'm not your damn maid!"

Alvin just laughed, closing the door to his room behind him.

* * *

Jude finished adding the last item to the list, and looked up. "Milla, why did Professor Haus tell you to come looking for me?"

The woman looked up from her book, thoughtful. "Your professor, he mentioned that his research had something to do with dæmons and... energy." Milla paused, and set the book aside as Jude sat down on the bed across from her. "Do you know the specifics of what he was researching?"

Jude frowned. "Only the basics." He rested his chin in his hand, slumping forward and attempting to recall what his professor had talked about. "So... dæmons are a part of a person's soul, right?"

The woman nodded. "Of course. And they're able to manifest in such a way due to the spirits that exist in our world."

"Right, and Professor Haus was studying the bond between human and dæmon. Specifically, what the evolutionary benefits were. Other research has found that the bond creates energy—or mana—and that's what allows people to use artes. Similar to how the aspyrixis device works." He demonstrated with a small light arte, feeling the slightest tug on his link with Tazi. Milla watched, contemplative. "But what Professor Haus theorized was that the energy from that bond could be used to power other things. If you stored up enough of the energy, instead of using it for artes, we could theoretically use it to power machines."

The Lord of Spirits was scowling. "And, theoretically, how much power could be harvested if that bond were permanently severed?"

Jude sat back, stunned. So. This was more connected than he'd originally thought. But, "Professor Haus would never have agreed to do that, even for research. I know it."

Milla looked pained. "I doubt he had much say in it. It sounds like they took his research a step further than he wanted, then tried to get rid of him."

Jude's stomach heaved, and Tazi whined, squirming up against him and pressing her long snout into his neck. After a moment, Milla sighed. "So... how much energy would that produce?"

Jude shook his head, struggling to think of the scientific possibilities while ignoring the underlying horror of the act. "Well, there would be more energy from the actual event. Massive, compared to what you could get if the bond were still maintained, since the spirit would be used up." He frowned. "But it would be a limited resource. Once the bond is split, you'd have a lot of initial energy, but nothing left afterward. Not to mention the effects it would have on the person and their dæmon." He shivered.

"But," Milla murmured. "If you performed that split between several bonded pairs, you would have enough energy to power something large?"

"Yes..." He said slowly, thinking. What could possibly require so much power? "Easily."

Lowering her voice, Milla leaned in and said, "What do you know about the Lance of Kresnik?"

Jude's mouth turned down as he thought. "Like the ancient hero, Kresnik? I know the stories, but I've never heard of a 'Lance.'" But Alvin had mentioned a machine, one that Milla wanted to destroy because it was dangerous to spirits. And now Milla was asking about the amount of energy that could be generated from breaking a bond between human and dæmon... Could it—

"Just-" She stopped, looking at something behind him. Jude didn't have to turn around to know that Alvin was standing in the doorway, and he let out a frustrated breath. The man seemed to have a knack for showing up at the most inopportune time.

Warm hands folded over his clenched fist. He opened his eyes to see Milla watching him, face hard. "Be careful." More words, unspoken, passed between them, and Jude nodded firmly. It seemed even his own employer didn't trust the man, at least not completely.

Alvin paused in the doorway, watching the two of them for a moment, then meandered in. He picked up the list and scanned its contents, frowning. "This everything, honors student?"

Jude sighed, and nodded again. "At least let me come with you," he tried. "You barely know what to look for."

"Really, Alvin," Milla chimed in, and Jude felt his heart leap. "Keeping him here is a little ridiculous."

Alvin clapped him on the shoulder a bit too firmly. "No can do, kid. I need you here with Milla in case anything happens." Then he grinned, pressing down on Jude's shoulder as he leaned in to whisper conspiratorily. "And don't think about leaving—I've left someone here to keep an eye on you."

Jude bristled. "Who?" He glanced at the man's dæmon, but there was no way they could be separated at that distance. Even witches and shamans couldn't go that far. He looked to Milla, who shrugged.

"Just behave, and you won't have to find out," Alvin laughed. Then he turned back around and walked out. A minute later, they heard the front door open, then close, and the telltale sound of a lock clicking into place.

Jude debated staying put for a whole five minutes. Milla watched him fidget, lips curled in a secretive smile, and then very pointedly went to sleep. He figured he'd give Alvin a thirty minute head start.

In the meantime, he'd look for his bracers.

**Author's Note:**

> Just for reference, Milla's dæmon, Casimir, is a Brazilian Rainbow Boa, Alvin's is a Maned Wolf, and Jude's Tazi is a Saluki!
> 
> I have no clue how long this will end up being, but will (ideally) update fairly regularly as it gets done. As always, hope you enjoyed, and please let me know if you spot any errors!


End file.
